Artist Winnie Pelz wanted her home about the South Australian coast to maximize views of the ocean and meld together with the colors and textures of the coastline. The property needed to accommodate space for entertaining along with a workspace, yet offer a cozy retreat that would defy the rocky coastal elements. “The layout is quite simple, depending on the conventional gable-roofed cabin of Australian pioneer housing, and also the materials of earth and Colorbond iron link back to that ancient vernacular structure,” says Pelz.
in a Glance
Who lives here: Winnie Pelz along with her Labrador-mastiff Bristle
Location: Cape Jervis, South Australia
Size: 96 square meters (about 1,033 square feet); 1 bedroom, 1 bath
Price: $200,000 Australian (about U.S.$184,920)
Jeni Lee
Pelz worked with David Roberts of Stabilised Earth. The home is built primarily out of rammed earth and walnut. The ground came from the Rapid Bay quarry, about 20 kilometers away. “I decided not to use the ground from my own land, since it’s fairly dark reddish in color and could have been overly visually hefty,” says Pelz. The area has harsh weather conditions, therefore Pelz wanted to remove the need to paint external surfaces. The veranda articles are untreated aluminium.
Pelz prioritized environmentally sustainable components to maintain maintenance and utility costs as low as possible. Her home has no air conditioning and is warmed obviously using locally sourced timber.
Jeni Lee
Pelz states that seeing birds dab in the pond, or using a gin and tonic or two while watching the sunlight is her favorite thing to do on the front veranda.
A rammed-earth wall here meets one made of walnut. The deck is constructed of plantation pine.
Jeni Lee
The kitchen is light filled and comfy; it’s rammed-earth walls and corrugated Lysaght Mini Orb ceiling panels. The floor is concrete. Storage is provided by a salvaged country kitchen cupboard, topped with a selection of celebrity sculptures, among the many around the home.
Pelz states,”The one thing I’d change if I built : I’d make the kitchen bigger. I amuse quite a lot, and it’s somewhat squeezy when I’ve more than six people for dinner or lunch.”
Sink: Villeroy & Boch; reddish celebrity: Industria
Jeni Lee
The home design is basically one open-plan kitchen, living area and dining area with a bedroom and bath attached. Pelz states,”Spatially the open living area works well for me. I love the simplicity of the room — the high textured walls and the windows open into the sea views offer a sense of inside-outside. When the weather permits, I have the windows open.”
Timber in the home is mainly plantation pine. The wooden horse sculpture is by Jason Monet.
Jeni Lee
One of Pelz’s favorite places to be is sitting in the front of the fire reading and listening to audio. Bristle the puppy likes it here too. “The home has a feeling of serenity,” she states,”but one of coziness when the open fire is burning along with the storms of winter are howling outside.”
The low jarrah table by the couch, custom Douglas fir shelves in the end of the area, geometric seat and tripod stool are by South Australia furniture designer Justin Hermes.
Jeni Lee
Pelz has been collecting art for at least 40 years, and the collection is quite eclectic. She states,”Selecting artworks is a really personal thing. I normally start looking for a feeling of soul… something that speaks to mepersonally, strikes a chord. I really like paintings that have a strong painterly textural quality. I also like humor and quirkiness in art –particularly in graffiti.”
She discovered an old pallet that had an intriguing texture and wrapped fish gathered from her travels through recent years. You will find fish from the Aolian Islands, the Aegean Islands, Spain, Norway and Australia’s own Port Lincoln and Kangaroo Island.
Jeni Lee
The bedroom also includes Brick Lysaght Mini Orb ceiling panels, exposed beams, rammed-earth walls along with some superbly textured secondhand furniture finds. An old wooden printer drawer is used to exhibit a collection, and two little landscape paintings by artist Morgan Allender. The painting above the couch is by Pelz. She states,”The bedroom has an extremely calm, serene feeling and catches the rising sun in the evenings — a wonderful way to wake up”
Couch: Freedom Furniture; gallery wall art: Rita Hall, Stephanie Crase, Sue Michael, Seth Barker and a Picasso print
Jeni Lee
The back of the home overlooks a deep valley, relatively protected from the weather and populated with all the local river redgum trees (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). Pictured here Morag ab Cruachan MacLadanae, among a group of drifting Highland cows. Pelz also has two llamas.